Saturated Facts - An analysis of the Corporate Political Activity of the Italian meat sector

Abstract: The meat sector is a known contributor to pressing environmental and public health problems such as climate change and antimicrobial resistance. Despite this, efforts to encourage changes in meat consumption face multiple barriers. One such obstacle is the fact that the meat industry engages in lobbying efforts to influence public opinion and delay policy formation. This study aimed to identify which CPA strategies are used by the Italian meat sector and assess the extent to which they are effective in altering people’s perceptions. Additionally, attempted to identify whether receiving prior information on the existence of CPA would affect people's ability to better detect strategies once at play. To explore the industry's communication strategies, a thematic analysis was performed on articles from a website published by a consortium of meat trade associations. This analysis showed that the industry is indeed utilizing CPA practices, particularly those that aim to frame the debate and shape evidence on climate and public health issues. To investigate the effectiveness of these practices, 334 Italian students were surveyed. Participants were given excerpts from the previously analyzed website and asked questions aimed at gauging whether their perceptions had been altered. Overall, the mechanisms deployed were successful in altering their perceptions. Additionally, participants were divided into a control and experimental group, with the experimental group having been briefly informed about CPA tactics, and the control group not. Both groups were asked to identify which CPA mechanisms they thought were deployed in the excerpts. No significant difference was found between the two groups' answers, suggesting that informing the students had no effect. The overall results of this study show that efforts must be undertaken to inform the public about the existence of CPA in the meat sector and that further research needs to be conducted on this topic.